So how was your summer? What'd you get up to? And most importantly, did you care?

World

9.23.2016

By Ariel Barnes

Did You Give A F*ck This Summer?

Yesterday (September 22nd) marked the first day of fall. The luxurious grace period we refer to as summer is now over and we are now, regrettably yet inevitably, closing in on November. On Tuesday, November 8th, you will (hopefully) be voting for the next President of the United States. You will gather and assess all of the information the media has spewed out about our two nominees over the last year, and—to the best of your ability—you will make an informed decision.

So what did you do this summer? Did you go to any music festivals? Did you go to Governor’s Ball? Panorama? Did you notice only some of the artists spoke out against police brutality during their sets?

At Panorama, while Kurt Vile was monotonously strumming away on his guitar, the crowd at A$AP Rocky’s set was chanting “Fuck Donald Trump.” Did you hear that?

And how about Vince Staples? Did you catch him at the Montreal-based festival Osheaga? Did you hear what he said? “I hope nobody gets pulled over tonight and nobody gets shot for no reason.” Did that faze you? Did you choose to brush it off because your molly was about to kick in?

Did you walk with Black Lives Matter? Did you convince at least one delusional friend that “All Lives Matter” is a fat, heaping pile of bullshit? Did you explain that being outraged at someone getting shot while their hands were in the air does not amount to being anti-police or anti-white? Did you tweet about Black Lives Matter? Did it at least get a retweet?

Did you lose faith in humanity when you heard that George Zimmerman sold his gun for $250,000—the same murder weapon that he used to shoot and kill an unarmed teenager?

Did you listen to the new Frank Ocean? I overheard someone describe Blonde as the second coming of Jesus Christ. Did you sing along to “Nikes”? To the part when Ocean says, “RIP Trayvon, that nigga look just like me”? Or did you stay silent for that part of the song? Are you staying silent?

Did you see that the U.S. Court ruled it legal to discriminate against dreadlocks during the process of employment? Chastidy Jones was turned down for a job because, as she was told, her dreadlocks are a hairstyle that “tend[s] to get messy.” Did you see Marc Jacobs flaunt this same hairstyle at his show during New York Fashion Week as if it were nothing more than a fun, quirky accessory? Isn’t it funny how the same hairstyle that deems black women unfit for a job, elevates white women to a level worthy of high fashion?

Did you read about Terrence Crutcher, the latest innocent black man to be shot and killed while his hands were in the air? Did you scroll past it?